Manatee district taps individual schools to fix finances

Published: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 10:35 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 10:35 p.m.

MANATEE COUNTY - As the district continues to absorb money from the bank accounts of Manatee schools in an effort to replenish reserves, rumors have swirled surrounding what schools and students stand to lose on the road to financial stability.

The district, under new Superintendent Rick Mills, announced a plan earlier this month that would take $2.5 million from school internal accounts and cut $2.4 million from district-level departments.

“As we all know, our entire school system is facing an unprecendented budgetary crisis,” Mills wrote in a memo to employees, referencing the $3.4 million budget deficit that school officials discovered in September. “Because of this we are asking all schools and district departments to work collaboratively with us to respond to this crisis.”

Keeping funds in the schools depends on how money was originally procured and what individual schools need to function. Remediation programs, such as after-school tutoring and FCAT Boot Camps will not be cut, the district has said.

Already, the district has lowered its expected draw from school accounts to $1.5 million after conversations with principals, district officials said Wednesday. There is about $8 million currently available in school internal accounts.

But schools use their internal accounts for everything from overtime pay to athletic budgets, and the savings plan has decidedly overwhelmed some teachers, students and school officials in a district where school supplies and classroom necessities are often paid for out-of-pocket or are in short supply.

The district may dip into accounts that are funded by vending machine money, lost library books and textbook fees, and events such as book fairs and sports games, depending on the school and how the money is collected.

The district is legally restricted from taking money donated to schools for particular use, including fundraising money.

But the district can take donated and internal account funds left over from prior years, and administrators can absorb donations given without a designated purpose.

District administrators have said they will continue to negotiate with school principals about what can be contributed, and that the draw-down approach will likely vary from school to school.

In the meantime, Mills has said in an April 8 memo to employees that $2.4 million in cuts have been spread throughout district-level departments. District officials said Wednesday that the total sum of district-level cuts has shot up to almost $3 million since then.

In addition, Mills will announce staff changes at the School Board's April 22 meeting, a move he has said will cut costs by 10 percent by changing salaries, positions and programs.

He has said he will look for ways to pay schools back for their contributions when financial stability is restored.

The need for drastic measures to restore district reserves was prompted by the September deficit, which was revealed by former Superintendent Tim McGonegal and grew as officials continued to find unbudgeted items throughout the fall.

The district got permission from the Florida Department of Education to operate with reserves below the 3 percent required by law if it came up with $6.3 million for the district savings account by the end of the year.

“To support that fund balance goal, we have to be very fiscally aggressive when it comes to cost savings initiatives for our district,” Mills stated in the same memo.

Calls to several Manatee County principals were not returned on Wednesday.

<p><em>MANATEE COUNTY</em> - As the district continues to absorb money from the bank accounts of Manatee schools in an effort to replenish reserves, rumors have swirled surrounding what schools and students stand to lose on the road to financial stability.</p><p>The district, under new Superintendent Rick Mills, announced a plan earlier this month that would take $2.5 million from school internal accounts and cut $2.4 million from district-level departments.</p><p>“As we all know, our entire school system is facing an unprecendented budgetary crisis,” Mills wrote in a memo to employees, referencing the $3.4 million budget deficit that school officials discovered in September. “Because of this we are asking all schools and district departments to work collaboratively with us to respond to this crisis.”</p><p>Keeping funds in the schools depends on how money was originally procured and what individual schools need to function. Remediation programs, such as after-school tutoring and FCAT Boot Camps will not be cut, the district has said.</p><p>Already, the district has lowered its expected draw from school accounts to $1.5 million after conversations with principals, district officials said Wednesday. There is about $8 million currently available in school internal accounts.</p><p>But schools use their internal accounts for everything from overtime pay to athletic budgets, and the savings plan has decidedly overwhelmed some teachers, students and school officials in a district where school supplies and classroom necessities are often paid for out-of-pocket or are in short supply.</p><p>The district may dip into accounts that are funded by vending machine money, lost library books and textbook fees, and events such as book fairs and sports games, depending on the school and how the money is collected.</p><p>The district is legally restricted from taking money donated to schools for particular use, including fundraising money. </p><p>But the district can take donated and internal account funds left over from prior years, and administrators can absorb donations given without a designated purpose.</p><p>District administrators have said they will continue to negotiate with school principals about what can be contributed, and that the draw-down approach will likely vary from school to school.</p><p>In the meantime, Mills has said in an April 8 memo to employees that $2.4 million in cuts have been spread throughout district-level departments. District officials said Wednesday that the total sum of district-level cuts has shot up to almost $3 million since then.</p><p>In addition, Mills will announce staff changes at the School Board's April 22 meeting, a move he has said will cut costs by 10 percent by changing salaries, positions and programs.</p><p>He has said he will look for ways to pay schools back for their contributions when financial stability is restored.</p><p>The need for drastic measures to restore district reserves was prompted by the September deficit, which was revealed by former Superintendent Tim McGonegal and grew as officials continued to find unbudgeted items throughout the fall.</p><p>The district got permission from the Florida Department of Education to operate with reserves below the 3 percent required by law if it came up with $6.3 million for the district savings account by the end of the year.</p><p>“To support that fund balance goal, we have to be very fiscally aggressive when it comes to cost savings initiatives for our district,” Mills stated in the same memo.</p><p>Calls to several Manatee County principals were not returned on Wednesday.</p>